As a person who is constantly over preparing I recently started browsing my favorite website (pinterest) for packing tips for a two week trip to Ireland during the summer. Maybe I was looking in the wrong place but I found few tips on Ireland so I turned to memories of my previous trip to Ireland in the fall of 2011 and I thought maybe if I can't find anything I should help others find it and there began this blog post.
The trip I was a part of was a six day tour of Ireland with the band Switchback. As an Irish dancer I was one of four dancers asked to perform two benefit concerts with the band. So my first trip I didn't do a lot of the planning, I just went where I was told and when I was told to do so.
As Ireland is known for its rain I bought a new raincoat for the occassion, which I don't recommend. I honestly wore my coat once while on the trip and that was on a boat tour of a loche. I primarily wore my grey Columbia fleece jacket the enitre trip. Layering is a great idea, therefore I took:
six long sleeved shirts (one "cuddle dud" and one adidas long underwear shirt),
three pairs of jeans,
one pair of comfy black pants (doubled as dressier pants and sweatpants),
three sweaters and one hoodie.
I also recieved one hoodie as a thank you for the benefit I danced at.
While taking pictures for this post I realized that the clothes I took with me were thin enough that rolling them actually took up more room in my suitcase!
I fold my jeans in "thirds" then in half again and it makes them really compact so that they fit really well. I then make a layer of jeans and heavier sweaters at the bottom of my suitcase.
I folded my shirts and laid them right on top of the "bulky" items. On top of my light shirts I added my tennis shoes and a pair of flip flops (which I never wore) (Caution: Don't be absent minded like myself and take triathlon shoes to Ireland, water will go up through the holes in the bottom!)
All of my accessories I put in a hardtop pencil case (97 cents at Walmart!) I use this case on every vacation for all of my accessories, hair ties, bobby pins, etc. and of course I have a little bag of makeup which I keep super simple (eyeliner, mascara, eyeshadow, and some lip gloss). I assumed you didn't want to see all of my undies and bras (even though they are pretty cute!) but I put all of my undies and socks in a large Ziploc bag and put them in the pocket on the inside of my suitcase along with bras and pajamas.
Meet my teddy bear Emmett! He is my traveling teddy bear that goes on all major vacations (my boyfriend gave him to me :)) In my carry on I took my laptop and camera (and chargers for both) along with my adapter. As a dancer I unfortunately had to pack my costume and dance shoes in my carry on which took up most of my room. A backpack is definitely the way to go for a carry on because its so much easier to carry than a duffel. Most planes allow you one carry on and one personal item so I carried my backpack and carried my jacket(s) I put my Columbia inside my raincoat and carried it on as one personal item. I also took a small cross body bag which I tucked inside my backpack.
These are my best friends. Space saving packing bags make packing so much easier. I use this a lot (especially when traveling to Disney World) and I'll add them to my bag on my next trip to Ireland. I roll my clothes and put them in the bag then roll the bag to get the air out and leave it rolled up to pack in my suitcase. They save so much room! I also had to buy a duffel bag to use as my carry on for all of my souvenirs on the turn trip home so I will be packing an empty bag this next trip!
With 11 days left until I hop across the pond for my second time I'll be looking out for more tips so feel free to leave some! Where's your favorite place to travel?
